BACTAC - Gruteser

Between completing an MS degree and starting my PhD program, I spent the
past year working at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights,
NY. I started as a summer intern and then accepted a full-time position as a
software engineer. During this time, I worked on a new pervasive computing
project concerned with a cubicle office environment. The project addresses the
design of a smart space from a real-world perspective. It seeks to improve
employee productivity and comfort through the integration of the physical
workspace design with sensors, actuators, and novel human-computer-interaction
devices. The software architecture for this smart space needs to enable
applications that acquire information from many distributed data sources such
as sensors and drive different output devices -- from displays to actuators.
Our solution is centered on a blackboard communication model and combines
elements from architectures for context-aware applications with modern web
technologies such as XML and XSLT. Furthermore, I will briefly describe my
exposure to the US patent system and what to expect from an IBM summer
internship.

BACTAC, the Beverage And Chips Tuesday Afternoon Colloquium, is a weekly forum
run by graduate students. The goal is provide an informal setting in which
anyone can (basically) present anything. In the past, we have had practice
talks for conferences and job interviews, research reports, juggle lessons (!),
student representative reports, internship discussions, an introduction to
ergonomics, and "pay attention to this when you are going to look for job"
discussions.

BACTAC is meant to be an informal and social event to promote the interaction
among graduate students. BACTAC is typically held every Tuesday, at 3:30pm,
in room ECOT 831. Free munchies and drinks are provided.

Please email Caleb Phillips
for more information or if you want to be a speaker.